Biofuels

‘Biofuel’ is a generic term used to describe fuel made from biomass (organic matter stored in the tissues of living plants and animals or waste they produce). Such fuels include biodiesel and DiMethyl Ether (DME), which is similar to propane, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – a clean-burning fossil fuel also known as propane. Biofuels are derived from a variety of sources including wood, straw, methane (from animal excrement), liquid fuels made from plant material or used cooking oil.

Vehicles that run on biofuel produce fewer pollutants and lower carbon dioxide. Owners can have their vehicles converted to run on LPG and other biofuels (alongside petrol or diesel). In fact, in the early days of the motorcar, engines were designed to run on biofuels; however the abundance of cheap crude oil ensured its dominance over alternative fuels.

Are they environmentally-friendly?
Advocates of biofuels claim that these are carbon-neutral, as the CO² they produce has already been absorbed by the plant the fuel derives from. Such fuels are also bio-degradable, which means that a spill would not result in the type of environmental disaster that results from an oil spill.

However, some negative effects of biofuels are now coming to light. The parts of the plant that can be used to produce this clean energy are fairly limited, which means that vast tracts of land are needed for biofuel crops. A major concern among charities and governments alike is that, as more land is used to grow biofuel crops, the global food price crisis will become more acute. Coupled with this is the fear that such monocultured crops will threaten biodiversity, further reducing habitats for animals and wild plants. Governments are therefore calling for sustainable biofuels that do not do more harm than good.

A second generation of biofuels could prove to be the answer – scientists in the petrochemical industry are developing biofuels that can be manufactured from biodegradable household waste rather than crops.

Running a vehicle on biofuels
The car industry is manufacturing hybrid engines that can run on biofuels and conventional sort. In fact, 60% of new cars can run on a proportion (up to 85%) of biofuel [source: BBC]. Alternative fuels are also much more economical – LPG is half the price of petrol while biodiesel is around 95p per litre (35p less than regular diesel) [source: thisismoney.co.uk]. Biodiesel is available as an alternative to conventional diesel. It is produced mainly from vegetable oils or animal fats, tallow and used cooking oil.

If your vehicle has been designed or converted to run on biofuels you can fill up your tanks with biodiesel. LPG is stored in a high-pressure fuel tank that is separate from your vehicle’s petrol/diesel tank, and it has the lowest flammability range of most alternative fuels.

Biofuels are the future
There are growing numbers of LPG and BioDiesel filling stations around the UK, as a visit to www.lpgmap.co.uk will show. The European Commission’s draft Renewable Energy Directive includes a renewable transport fuel target of 10% by 2020 – providing certain conditions are met, such as the sustainability of producing such fuels and without this impacting food prices. Some advocates use biofuels exclusively – one US man runs his ‘veggie-van’ solely on used fast-food cooking oil.

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